The first Android 13 public beta is here

(Pocket-lint) - The first public beta of Android 13 is now available for anyone to test - as long as you own a compatible Pixel device.

Following two months of being in a developer preview, and right on schedule, Android 13 has moved to the public beta stage. Google announced on Tuesday that anyone already running the developer preview should automatically receive the new public beta. For those who weren't in the developer preview, you can install the beta on a supported Pixel device. Just make sure it's your secondary device, as the public beta may still introduce bugs and cause issues. 

For more about the public beta, including which Pixel phones can run it, and how to get it, see Pocket-lint's Android 13 guide.

Google already revealed Android 13's most interesting features when it announced the developer preview earlier this year. The standout changes include support for Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio, a way to restrict which photos an app can access, app icon theming options, and a notifications permission for eliminating spam. The public beta also added a couple of under-the-hood improvements, such as a new app permission for accessing shared media files in local storage. It will now be specific to the type of media an app needs to access (like images and video) instead of allowing access to all files.

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The Android 13 public beta has arrived ahead of Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O, happening in May. I/O should serve as the place where Google officially announces Android 13 and demos some of its new features and capabilities. Keep in mind the beta isn't a final, stable release of Android 13. That'll arrive later this year for newer Android devices.

Writing by Maggie Tillman.